As a website owner, implementing social tools like sharing and commenting can be a pain. These JavaScript widgets each operate in their own space, without a common standard to follow, or guidelines for security and interoperability. From an end-user perspective each of these tools can require a separate login, before allowing me to interact or personalizing options for me--and even though multiple tools can be on the same page, they know nothing about each other, let alone share information with each other, creating very separate and siloed experiences.

The Twitter API has taken a winding road since its initial launch in 2006. Since 2012, Twitter has continued to clamp down on API consumption and usage, often to the dismay of the developer community. However, Twitter continues to understand the value of API features to its growth and the developer community.

Among the three largest social networking sites the most arcane to deal with from a developer perspective is LinkedIn. Now PeopleLinx is trying to prove there is a viable developer opportunity surrounding Linkedin APIs. The company, which just picked up an additional $3.2 million in financing, has developed an analytics application for LinkedIn that allows organizations to more easily ascertain what people are connected to what potential key accounts.

The MessageMedia Lookups API validates phone numbers by checking their validity, type and carrier records. It reduces the number of failed or undeliverable messages sent. Developers can authenticate...